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Echo
09-13-2008, 08:50 PM
Hi guys and gals,

I guess this is a part-rant, part asking-for-advice kind of thread.

I broke up last night with my bf, it was so effortless and so right. I tried breaking up with him twice before but didn't feel ready even though I felt like it was over. I guess I was waiting for the time when it would finish naturally. So he wasn't too surprised or emotional, I'd managed to build up some distance between us when I didn't follow him when he decided to go back to France to study. So with me in England and him in France, it was the perfect opportunity for me to be objective.

I guess I want my next bf to be someone I feel attracted to or feel some sort of a vibe/chemistry. With my ex I didn't feel that, all I had was his great personality (initally he was amazing, but I got so sick and tired of him later on).

I want someone I can feel proud to show off to my closest friends. I once took my ex to a party full of friends, and he embarassed me. Not in a nasty sort of way like getting into a fight or whatever. But througout the whole night he was shy, clingy to certain friends who, after a while did not want to hang out with him. He was cracking 'jokes' (which I used to pretend to find funny, but other people obviously don't have such obligations) and trying to be funny, and it was just tedious for others, I could feel them getting bored/uncomfortable.

I used to think of him as a social, popular kind of guy. In France he's got lots of friends and does gigs, is very confident and charming with others, and me. But the problem was, I hated France, I couldn't see myself living there at all, so it would mean having to put up with his insecure self in England.

Back to my ex. He's eccentric and wears baggy pants like Charlie Chaplin. He's kind of balding (don't get me wrong, some bald guys are actually hot), doesn't have too much substance to him - he's far from my 'type' of tall and well-built guys.

He liked one of my poems so much that he took a couple of the lines and put it in a song. I got pissed off at this I told him he can't use those words because I'm not a published writer and it's kind of plagiarism.

In short, I don't know how on earth I ended up with this guy. I find him boring, annoying, badly-dressed, his sense of humour a little too eurotrash - with all the silly and gay-like references to penises and ding dong dandies.

I find it annoying that he always always asks me to repeat what I've just said because he can't understand me when I say it the first time. Making me self-conscious of my own language ability in my own native tongue. I I also hated it when he corrected me everytime I uttered a word of french - reducing my advanced university-level French to basics.

I'm not saying he was horrible. Quite the contrary, he was a very romantic, sentimental kind of guy, which got boring after a while. Really, he was just a teddy bear boyfriend.

So, I'm still getting over the last remnants of him in my mind, but also on the lookout for a new guy in my life.

I wanted to ask you guys how do you go about finding a reasonably good-looking, outgoing, intelligent guy?

And how do you assess your own desirability so that you don't end up with a guy way below you? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm stunning or anything, but I want to feel l'm doing justice to myself.

Have you ever been in a similar relationship?

I've decided to work in 2 part-time jobs as an Art Gallery assistant and a barmaid at a pub. I'm hoping the right kind of guy would be drawn to me this way.

What do you guys think?

MLMaestro
09-14-2008, 12:48 AM
Well...we all make mistakes. I made them too. It's part of the process that leads you to eventually finding the right one.

As for the criteria you set, nothing wrong with those, we all appreciate beauty. However, just don't be overly stuck with those criteria when you do meet a guy whom you have chemistry with but may not fulfill all of them.

Work-wise, I would say just stick with being an art gallery assistant. Bars and pubs are not likely to attract long-term kind of guys, if you know what I mean. And taking two jobs at once might just wear you out a bit too much.

Hope that helped.

koolkat1980
09-14-2008, 01:40 AM
Well you can only learn through trial and error. I've dated some really cute looking guys (problem with this is that all the other girls want a piece of him as well) and a couple of uglies as well. I consider myself below to average looking. I do however feel intimidated by 'model material' guys because they'd be way out of my league anyway.

I've also dated some academics and dummies here and there as well. Each have their pros and cons. You just have stick with a guy who you trust and a really good friends with. I've pretty much given up dating and going online. I'm taking the approach of, if it happens it happens, it not, it wasn't meant to be. :question: Regarding your boyfriend....?? Some guys are only really meant to be 'friends.' That's wot I think anyway.

I think the art gallery sounds like a promising place to meet nice, cultured men. Not so sure about the bar. As it depends how many beers a guys had. I'm always suspicious when a guy shows interest in me after 5 beers or more. I prefer a guy show interest in me when he's 100% sober.

LaFille
09-14-2008, 02:19 PM
Have you ever been in a similar relationship?

oooooh French guys. :p Yeah, I have been there and I can't believe how much of your post sounded SO familiar. The French guy I dated years ago was a great guy but I had so many similar experiences- I also felt like he couldn't mesh with my friends and family, and he would put my French down ALL the time. On the other hand he was super romantic and in touch with his emotions.

Anyway, I don't really know how to meet guys except it normally happens rather unexpectedly, and that you should never write someone off as "not your type" before getting to know them. I am dating a guy now who I am crazy about in every way, and he is everything I ever wanted in a guy but never looked for. Oh-- and he doesn't put me down ever. I'll never put up with that from a partner again :rolleyes:

Good luck :)

wordsmith
09-14-2008, 02:35 PM
Somebody who routinely puts you down should never be surprised when you dump his sorry ass. I would expect to get dumped if I was consistently putting my BF down.

LaFille
09-15-2008, 05:53 PM
Somebody who routinely puts you down should never be surprised when you dump his sorry ass. I would expect to get dumped if I was consistently putting my BF down.

AMEN.

It's crazy what you will put up with when you think you are in love. But being with someone who puts you down is not a mistake anyone should make twice.

bluespoon
09-19-2008, 03:56 AM
I agree it's all about trial and error. (I'm getting out of the 'error' part and trying to find some new trials...)

"teddy bear boyfriend" - I like that....I could use that to describe my last boyfriend (who I met in France, btw lol). Luckily he didn't put down my french language ability...
However another guy in France before him always made comments about my french. Most of the time in a joking way but it got old quickly. Then if we were with a group of people and I would ask for clarification or what they said he would be like "oh it's complicated, blah blah" He turned out to be an insecure dumbass and couldn't understand a lick of english but pretended he could, just couldn't speak it well....ANYWHO

I have asked myself similar questions as you, Echo, and I've decided that a guy who's at par with me is someone who I wouldn't be embarrassed to introduce to my family and close friends and who, in turn, my family and close friends would like. I'm not saying, run to your best friend for approval every time, but if you're unsure, having a second opinion from someone who knows you well can help.

Overall I think it's important to be with someone you're proud of and who is proud of you :)

Echo
09-25-2008, 07:20 PM
ugh, bluespoons, your last bf sounds like an asshole putting down your french like that.

I want to meet someone who's really attractive to me (I don't care about others). I know I'm contradicting myself a bit. But there are guys out there who you'd think "hmm, he's not my type but he's handsome and really nice to talk to, I can see what she sees in him".

THATS how I want my guy to be. I don't want my friends to be thinking "wow, Echo has found a weird guy who's neither good-looking nor confident or interesting, where did she find him? she can do better."

I recently had a chat with my sister and as we were walking she pointed out a few guys whom she thought were in my league or even slightly above but whom I could get away with dating. And I was really surprised by how good-looking they were. My ex bf always used to tell me how lucky he felt to be with me... I guess my point is not to boost my ego here, but to point out that we girls are often very pretty and attractive and we find guys that are shabby or dirty slobs and we deserve so much better.

Guys by comparison have a healthier body image and think they're stunning (even when they're not).

drummer
09-25-2008, 08:21 PM
Guys by comparison have a healthier body image and think they're stunning (even when they're not).

Well...I don't know if that's really true.

Lately as I've been starting to get close to a girl, I spend a good amount of time: staring in a mirror at my blotchy skin or my beard that's a little crappy looking in some spots or how pale I am, or my feminine eyelashes, or my big nose (thanks for that hand-me-down, Dad!) etc...

And I don't think I'm some "metro" guy that obsesses over things like this, either. Granted, girls have it a LOT worse than us, but I think guys do care a surprising amount about body image.

wordsmith
09-26-2008, 12:00 AM
Trust me, shaky body image is definitely NOT the sole property of women. Guys are in the uncomfortable position of having to bluff through it, though.

Echo
09-28-2008, 03:12 PM
I know that both genders have the capacity for bad body image. One of my brothers for instance, is short and he's always felt less attractive than tall men.
But I'm not talking about physical flaws. I'm talking about clothes and appearance. Women always feel like less of a woman if they're not as groomed as other women, if their hair is not as nice, if their clothes aren't as flattering because of their body shape. To such a point that it's expected, even encouraged of women. Men on the other hand can wear a T-shirt and jeans and feel gorgeous.

... anyway, I don't even know why I'm going on about this, it's only one of the reasons I broke up with him, and a minor reason at that.

AsianGeek
09-28-2008, 10:50 PM
I've decided to work in 2 part-time jobs as an Art Gallery assistant and a barmaid at a pub. I'm hoping the right kind of guy would be drawn to me this way.

What do you guys think?

Really it depends on what kind of guys you want to meet. But I guess art gallery is nice if you're into the more artistic type of guy.